Hello Poetry is a blue place this calendar year*
for we have seen many a good poet disappear
their inspiring words not around to delight in
of this expression the site is somewhat thin

Hello Poetry has experienced a considerable loss
gone all of that imagery so beautiful in gloss
the colors they deftly painted faded as they left
which makes the heart feel palpably bereft

Hello Poetry members those of excellent ink
missing from our writing fellowship's rink
we'll not forget the contribution they made
as each one of them showed the finest parade

Hello Poetry our brothers and sisters of the quill
departed us with yet more stanzas to spill
their individual styles we'll not sight again
*truly a thought which is so downcast of refrain

Season's greetings
To you I send,

I pray for love and peace
For every precious friend.

May this season of hope
Bring happiness in an abundance,

May you feel joy in every moment -
May they be most wondrous.

May we pause for a few seconds
And give thanks for each new blessed day,

May we pray for the needy -
Ask that some assistance may come their way.

May the sick, and the lonely,
Find peace of mind,

May the underprivileged,
And the homeless,
Sleep easier each night - may life become kind.

May we be grateful for more
Than the gifts beneath the Christmas tree,

May we pray for a New Year
That brings peace throughout the Earth,
For all of humanity.

Season's greetings
To you I send,

I pray with all of my heart
That peace on Earth
Is right around the bend.

By Lady R.F ©2016

On a bleak and frosty night
Vexed and weary two travelers rode
Along the pathways-craggy and ragged
From Nazareth, trudging miles on end

Full pregnant, was she with child
Mary -the ******, suffused with Spirit Holy
Divinely ordained to bear the Godly Prince
Conceived before, she had known her spouse.

Abiding in Heaven’s Providence n’ care
They had rode past miles behind
Far too fatigued by the trip
Mary, now badly needed a place to rest.

Heading towards the blinking lights
Not far from the city’s guarded gate
Joseph sighted a tavern-small
Perched high on a tiny hill

A sense of relief beamed past
They have come at last to the journey’s end
Finally found a place to rest!
An interim home away from home

Tethering the donkey outside the gate
Joseph helped Mary alight the brute
In eager search, he hurried inside
With Mary, following with faltering steps.

But the couple, to their dismay found
Within the tavern, room, there was none
For many a man had gathered round
To halt there on that freezing night

Sundry folk from surrounding lands
Had reached Bethlehem for the yearly census
Tradesmen selling clothes and cheese
Nomads of varying clans and clime

Petulant camels, braying donkeys
The place was littered with man and beast.
The tavern small, so packed to full
Had no more space to harbor the crowd

Mary and Joseph, though dejected,
Were encamped within a manger- warm
With tender concern, Joseph joked,
To ease the strain on Mary’s face

“Gaze upon this palace of gold
Where a son shall soon be born to us”!
Mary smiled a gentle smile,
Humored by her husband’s jest

Under the gaze of tethered hosts
In veiled privacy of the midnight gloom
She gave birth to a radiant child,
The great Redeemer to all Mankind

The star studded sky suddenly glowed
With a rare brilliance never beheld
And a celestial voice trailed along
Delivering ‘tidings of joy’ to the globe around